Who gets frustrated wrestlin with "Les" ?

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Who gets frustrated wrestlin with "Les" ?

I must be one of the lucky ones. I love the feel and sound of both. I am a big man though, so the weight of the Les Paul doesn't bother me at all. Had one hanging around my neck for over eight hours once at a party, give and take a few breaks. A strat is like a holiday, lol--like a feather.

I seem to be able to adjust to any guitar. I'm lucky that way. Years ago my Kramer American Libery and Baretta gave me a little trouble getting used to the Floyd, but I adjusted well to them as well. That American Liberty was a GREAT guitar. I'm sorry I got rid of it but I did trade it for a 73 50 watt Marshall "stack" The slant cab was a Marshall that was done in orange tuck and roll, and the straight cab was a Sound City that didn't sound that good. :smoker:

Count me in on all that too -- I love both Strats and LP's have no problem with any size neck. I think I might if I had to play barre chord after barre chord all night long, in which case I'd prefer the big neck. Otherwise, anything goes.

Given a choice between the two, it's the LP no contest. You just can't get that big wide majestic tone out of a Strat without heavily modifying it, and even then it's still not quite "right". Of course, you can't get those classic cluck tones out of an LP either, which is why I say I love both. I love the 'delicate' airy chime you can get from a Strat.

The 24.75" scale is just right and I love that it's big and heavy -- makes me feel like I've got a real guitar in my hands and not a toy, but if you are on the thin or smallish side and/or you have small hands, I can understand the beef of an LP being a problem, especially on a 4-hour gig. Though the LP Classic (slim taper neck) is made for those with small hands.

 

[B2D]

Re: Who gets frustrated wrestlin with "Les" ?

I love the way les pauls sound, but I think the Gibson Les Paul is the biggest ergonomic nightmare out there.

Oh man you totally hit the nail on the head. I feel the same way.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Who gets frustrated wrestlin with "Les" ?

I think that Les Pauls are the best looking guitars ever, mirror black finish with gold hardware being my favorite setup (I love black guitars) the tone is great.

(Homer Simpson voice) Black Customs! Mmmmmm....

If you are have trouble with pulling the strings out of tune get a tonepros bridge and locking tuners, my buddy did that to his epi les paul and I love that guitar now.

I got the Grover 18:1 locking tuners for my 355. That and a little Nut Sauce in the nut slots and you should be able to stay in tune no problem. My LP Standard has the vintage-style plastic tuners so the locking tuners aren't a direct replacement. But it seems to stay in tune very well and I dig the look, so no need to replace.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Who gets frustrated wrestlin with "Les" ?

I'm a Gibson Les Paul lovin' kinda guy.

I find there to be more wrestlin' goin on with a Telecaster than with a LP. And I love them both.

If I play a Strat for a while I kinda get used to it, but I'd still rather have a LP in my hands.

Definitely more work to bend a string on the Fender (25.5") scale. Gibson strings feel like butter after playing blues on a Strat for a while.

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: Who gets frustrated wrestlin with "Les" ?

my tele is strings through bridge instead of strings through body, and a few tele guys (gatton included) say that the strings through bridge make them easier to bend and a bit looser..I tend to agree, I think I like this setup more than string through body

 

[CompleteGuitard]

Re: Who gets frustrated wrestlin with "Les" ?

^^


I dont really have any trouble bending strings on my string through strat, and i use 10-52 gauge strings, those are pretty thick. I dont know i guess i'm just used to it cause when i strap on my buddy's LP style EC300 with 9's i overbend like crazy and damn near break the strings on the thing, it just feels too loose and flubby.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Who gets frustrated wrestlin with "Les" ?

I've got 11.5 through 52 on my Strat. I've found that 11.5 for the high E is the threshold for that huge SRV tone (he used 12's from what I understand) where the E sounds tonally more like the B string.

Whenever I'd try to learn an SRV groove, I would end up playing on the B-string because it sounded like he was playing the B, when he was really playing the E. You can imagine how awkward that would be. The 11.5 first string solved that problem.

I can do step-and-a-half bends on the Strat on the high E -- even with the 11.5 (though I confess it's tuned to E-flat) -- but it's a lot easier on the shorter scale Gibsons, which feel like home.

Strats do prefer to be fought and strangled, whereas the LP has such a naturally big, wide, in-your-face tone with more sensitivity that hitting it really hard isn't necessary.

 

[rinse_master]

Re: Who gets frustrated wrestlin with "Les" ?

I always wanted an LP, when I first got one it was a little strange, but I prefer to play an LP to be honest, to me it's really odd playing my Ibanez though.